Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Release Feature Matrix

Please refer to the sections below to learn which features are available with various Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops offerings and versions. With Citrix Cloud, some features may require components to be installed on-premises.

Level of IT involvement key= Not entitled in the release at all
 = Requires IT to deploy and manage = Hybrid solution, requires part(s) to be deployed and managed by IT = A Citrix managed cloud service*

* The VMs running the virtual applications and desktops are managed by IT to allow flexibility and data privacy

Server-based virtual applications(Server-based published applications)
Deploy Windows, web, or Linux applications enabling secure access from a wide range of devices. The application performs as if it were installed locally on the device.

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Server-based virtual desktops(Windows and Linux hosted-shared desktops)
Highly-scalable, multi-user virtual desktops that provide the flexibility and mobility benefits of desktop virtualization while maximizing IT control through enhanced security and simplified management.

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VDI (Pooled and dedicated)
Desktop operating systems, such as Windows 10, Windows 7, and Linux, are hosted in the datacenter and securely delivered to users on-demand. These desktops can be made available in a pooled fashion from a common base image or dedicated to users for personalization to meet the needs of advanced users.

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Server-based VDIEnables enterprises and service providers to deliver to an individual user a single session, server-based virtual desktop either on-premises or from the cloud.

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Remote PC AccessProvide secure remote access to physical PCs and laptops leveraging the full HDX experience without SSL VPNs or the need to migrate desktops to the datacenter.

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VM-hosted applicationsSome applications are only compatible with a desktop OS rather than a server OS. With VM-hosted apps, the app can be hosted on individual desktop VMs and published for seamless delivery to users just like a server-hosted virtual app.

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Support for Universal Apps based on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP)
Universal Apps are modern, interactive applications designed to work on a wide variety of the latest Windows devices. Seamlessly deliver apps based on this new flexible platform from both Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 to any device.

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Content publishingProvide users access to content, including web sites and documents, from within the same Citrix interface that they access their apps and desktops.

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Support for Microsoft App-V IntegrationMicrosoft App-V integration enables admins to distribute App-V applications to virtual desktops or servers through the Citrix Studio console without requiring a separate App-V server and database infrastructure. App-V applications can also share a common isolation environment for intercommunication.

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Policy-based access control with templatesPolicies enable administrators to control application and desktop delivery, availability and performance based on user, group, device, IP address range or other criteria. Policies can be used to control access to peripherals (drives, printers, clipboard, audio, COM ports), optimize performance (bandwidth limits, feature availability, latency reduction), and even enforce connection limits (number of sessions per user, per application, or both). Templates provide starting points for settings based on desired use-case such as maximum server scalability or branch/remote workers.

HDX user experience optimization
Delivers a superior high-definition user experience on any device, over any network. With Citrix HDX, the virtual experience rivals a local PC, even when using multimedia, real-time voice and video collaboration, USB peripherals (like smart cards and drawing/signature tablets) and 3D graphics.

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HDX Adaptive Transport / Enlightened Data Transport (EDT)
Enlightened Data Transport is a new transport layer for ICA over UDP and is designed to provide users with the best possible experience regardless of if they are on the LAN or a high-latency WAN. Performance improvements are realized across all virtual channels including up to 10x faster file transfers, 5x faster print times and 2x more session responsiveness with improved audio and video.

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HDX 3D Pro HDX 3D Pro is a set of specialized technologies that enable the delivery of 3D professional graphics applications from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. HDX 3D Pro works with any hypervisor, cloud, device, or GPU, enabling customers the best possible experience with the flexibility of choice.

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Thinwire The modern Thinwire display remoting technology in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops maximizes server scalability while providing a great user experience for mainstream business applications running on modern versions of Windows, whether delivered to newer or older endpoint devices.

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HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Skype for Business The HDX RealTime Optimization Pack optimizes the delivery of voice, video and telephony features of Skype for Business when hosted on Citrix Virtual Apps or Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. The Optimization Pack maximizes server scalability to minimize TCO and supports advanced features such as H.264 SVC, QoE reporting, and interop with third-party transcoders, bridges, gateways and audio recording systems.

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* New LTSR Pack

Cisco Jabber Optimization (Provided and supported by third-party)
Optimize Cisco Jabber in virtual app and desktop environments with the Cisco Virtualization Experience Media Edition (VXME). Media processing is offloaded to the endpoint device for the best possible user experience and maximum server scalability.

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Avaya One-X Optimization Designed to run in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops environments for optimized delivery of HD-quality voice and video.

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Windows Media Redirection Windows Media redirection controls and optimizes the way servers deliver streaming audio and video to users. By playing the media run-time files on the client device rather than the server, Windows Media redirection reduces the bandwidth requirements for playing multimedia files. Windows Media redirection improves the performance of Windows Media player and compatible players running on virtual Windows desktops.

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Flash Redirection Adobe Flash content accessed via published applications is offloaded from the server and redirected to the user’s device (Windows or Linux) reducing resource consumption and improving performance.

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H.264-enhanced HDX SuperCodecThe HDX SuperCodec is a blend of modern codec technologies that enables HDX to use the best compression method for each different type of content on the screen. Citrix was the first vendor to leverage H.264 codec technology with virtual desktops and we’ve continued to enhance our H.264 technology to deliver higher frame rates, top quality video and 3D graphics, and best-in-class bandwidth efficiency.

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H.265-enhanced HDX SuperCodec
Citrix is the only vendor to make use of H.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding), the latest industry-standard for video compression, within virtual apps and desktops for hardware acceleration of remote graphics and videos.

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HDX Mobile HDX Mobile improves the experience of Citrix users working in supported Windows applications and desktops on mobile devices. HDX includes a native interface control channel allowing Windows apps to be re-factored for a touch experience while leveraging device features such as multi-touch gestures and native menu controls.

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Session linger Keeps the user's session connection open after the user closes the app to provide a quick app reconnect or enable the user to open a new app without repeating the logon process.

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Local App Access Permit Windows apps local to the endpoint device to be seamlessly displayed within a full-screen virtual desktop session even though they are installed and running locally.

Citrix X1 Mouse A purpose-built wireless Bluetooth mouse for use while connecting to apps and desktops from iOS and Android devices. Enables precise interaction while providing an enhanced mobile experience that can often replace the need to work from a laptop or desktop.

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Single Sign-on with SAML Integrate StoreFront directly with a SAML Identity Provider for a true single sign-on solution to resources.

Citrix SD-WAN for WAN optimization
Significantly improves Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops capacity and performance over the WAN while providing a unified platform that accelerates applications across public and private networks, improving performance and end user experience. Citrix SD-WAN VPX (WANOP edition) appliances are included for branch offices. Citrix SD-WAN appliances for datacenter is purchased separately.

HDX MultiStream ICA Provides the option of delivering HDX virtual channels over up to four TCP/IP streams and two UDP streams. This gives customers full flexibility for Quality of Service (QoS) routing over the network and provide superior audio/visual quality without disrupting other HTTP traffic.

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Browser Content Redirection Redirects the full contents of a web browser to be rendered on the client for maximum server scalability and optimal user experience.

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Optimized web-based Microsoft TeamsBy leveraging Browser Content Redirection and Google Chrome on the VDA, and the embedded browser from Workspace app deliver optimized web-based Microsoft Teams, as well as other WebRTC applications, such as Google Hangout. This enables the audio and video processing to occur on the endpoint to provide the best possible user experience in a virtualized environment.

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HTML5 Video Redirection Offload HTML5 video content to the endpoint device for internal sites that are controlled by IT. This provides the best possible user experience for rich content while also maintaining maximum server scalability.

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Universal Print Driver Set of generic print drivers that can be used by any printer device as an alternative to the standard printer vendor/model driver.

Pre-launch Creates a local-like app launch experience by expediting the session creation process. With pre-launch, a session waits for the user in an active or disconnected state, enabling quick, instant-on app access to an already active app session making for a fast and local-like app launch experience.

Citrix ITSM ServiceNow AdapterThe Citrix ITSM Adapter for ServiceNow is a cloud service that provides single point of integration between Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops to ServiceNow, enabling automation of common tasks in the enterprise with out of the box workflows aimed at improving efficiency, compliance and productivity.

Citrix Provisioning Simplifies management for deployments of all sizes, physical or virtual, by streaming Windows and Linux OS image workloads. This reduces the amount of required shared storage and dramatically simplifies the ability to patch and update machines with fast rollout and fast rollback functionality exclusive to Provisioning Services.

Citrix Machine CreationImage management and provisioning control from within the Citrix Studio console for simplified administration, especially beneficial in a public or hybrid cloud deployment. Integrates directly with APIs of public clouds and hypervisors to streamline management.

Microsoft Azure Azure has been identified as the strategic public cloud vendor for Citrix solutions. Cloud provisioning on Azure enables IT to dynamically provision app and desktop workloads in Microsoft Azure from their on-premises deployment or deploy a new environment entirely within Azure.

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Azure Government
Supports the deployment of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops workloads on Microsoft Azure Government

Power Management for Google Cloud Platform (GCP)Power management support for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with the Citrix Cloud Virtual Apps and Desktops service deliver a better way to work with Google Cloud instances. With this new innovation, you can now create hosting connections to GCP, create managed machine catalogs, browse your GCP resources directly from the Citrix Studio UI, and provide full power management control to your administrators.

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Citrix Hypervisor Easily integrate with a Citrix Hypervisor virtualization solution for provisioning machines and the flexibility to expand or change your infrastructure at any time. Citrix Hypervisor vGPU sharing provides the best possible graphics experience when virtualizing 3D applications.

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Hyper-V with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) Easily integrate with your existing Hyper-V virtualization solution for provisioning machines and the flexibility to expand or change your infrastructure at any time.

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VMware vSphere Easily integrate with your existing vSphere virtualization solution for provisioning machines and the flexibility to expand or change your infrastructure at any time.

Universal enterprise app store
(StoreFront)
Aggregate resources from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops in one place providing self-service access to Windows applications and desktops and internal web applications through a single portal from all devices.

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Anonymous (unauthenticated) access
Enables StoreFront to provide access to user sessions without authenticating. Generally this is used where applications themselves require their own authentication. Allows administrators to optionally make a specific Store support anonymous (unauthenticated) access.

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Store Customization SDK
Enables admins to restrict access to applications and desktops based on the user’s location, the type of devices the user has, or smart access policies. Create and define business logic around how users launch and experience applications to tailor access to application resources so that they meet the needs of your business.

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Resource filtering by types or keywords
Tailor the applications visible to certain users by filtering on keywords present in the application description field or property types.

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Favorite applications
Enables users define a list of favorite or frequently used applications for fast access. IT can configure featured applications for easy access to mission-critical programs.

Citrix Workspace appCitrix Workspace app is an all-in-one app where users can access their favorite Windows, Linux, mobile, SaaS, web apps, desktops and files seamlessly and instantly. Users get uninterrupted access to the apps they need while IT retains immaculate control over user accounts and password policies to strengthen corporate security. (Refer to the Citrix Workspace app feature matrix for additional details by platform).

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Citrix Receiver A legacy client interface that automatically installs and configures client devices to access applications and resources meant specifically for authenticated users. Available for a wide array of OS platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. *Citrix Workspace includes the full capabilities of Citrix Receiver and more

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Citrix Workspace experienceWorkspace experience U/I is a Citrix Cloud service that enumerates and delivers all your digital workspace resources to Citrix Workspace app. On-prem customers can utilize Citrix site aggregation available in Citrix Cloud services to aggregate their on-premises virtual app and desktop deployments. For more information on Citrix Workspace experience gohere.

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Citrix StoreFront Enables IT to create enterprise app stores that aggregate resources from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops in one place. The store created provides users with self-service access to their Windows applications and desktops through a single portal from all their devices. Admins get a single place to manage the provisioning of corporate applications and desktops for users.

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Clientless HTML5 AccessProvides breakthrough performance for access to business applications and desktops from popular browsers, as well as Google Chrome devices. Enhances the graphics experience for both 2D and 3D applications and provides an improved audio-video experience at significantly lower bandwidth.

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Non-admin client installation Eliminates the need to give users “Administrator” privileges in order to install Receiver for Windows to simplify application access.

Endpoint scanning and extensible analysis Clients are scanned against administrator-defined criteria to enforce proper configuration such as up-to-date security software and operating system hotfixes. Endpoint analysis can be extended using industry-standard development tools.

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Federated Authentication to Azure Active Directory
Deliver secure, single sign-on to apps and desktops by authenticating to Azure active directory.

Centralized application delivery
Applications are configured to execute on the servers in the data center. Apps and data are maintained in the data center and never on the users’ devices, improving security and compliance.

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Centralized desktop delivery Server-based and VDI desktops reside in the data center. Delivery in this manner means that the user experience of a full desktop is preserved regardless of a user’s device.

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Peripheral connection control
Allows admins to define policies that control data transferred between the virtual session and the end user device. Restricts whether hard drives, printers, USB, COM ports, and the clipboard are mapped for a user.

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Session watermarking
Security policy to display a text-based watermark on an app or desktop session to deter and track data theft.

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ShareFile integration Integrate ShareFile content with an optimized on-demand experience for file access and collaboration. Administrators control security policies and end user presentation to meet compliance or data sovereignty needs.

Smart card support Support for smart card authentication to hosted applications and desktops as well as passthrough support on Citrix StoreFront via Citrix Gateway (previously NetScaler). Includes such cards as Common Access Cards (CAC) and Personal Identity Verification (PIV).

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Passthrough authentication Provides the ability to pass the user’s desktop password to the server on Citrix StoreFront via Citrix Gateway (previously NetScaler). This reduces the need for multiple system and application authentication.

Centralized management consolesComprehensive interface that enables complete management of the entire infrastructure including servers, applications, licenses, printers and users from any location.

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Citrix Cloud-Based Management
Management infrastructure hosted by Citrix, which guarantees an up-to-date management experience supporting the latest features. Also allows for an easy addition of other Citrix Cloud services, like Content Collaboration and Endpoint Management, with shared capabilities across the services.

Active Directory Group Policy integrationGroup Policy templates and integration with Microsoft Active Directory Group Policy-based management enable rapid server, application and user access configuration across even the most complex environments.

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Delegated administration Provides the ability to designate specific administrative tasks to individual users or groups, such as helpdesk staff or support teams. Gives large IT departments the ability to isolate the scope and role of administrative functions for compliance and control.

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Management Packs for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) Management packs that enable comprehensive environment monitoring and visibility all from within the SCOM console. Includes a topology diagram of your infrastructure that is built-out automatically, a health explorer to view component statuses and troubleshoot, SLA dashboards and various alerts and reports. Products and components monitored include Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, StoreFront, and Provisioning Services.

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Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) integration Makes it easy to manage pooled desktop and server images from System Center while leveraging policy enforcement and report processes and tools provided in SCCM.

Citrix Director Citrix Director provides a single web-based console where IT help desk admins can monitor, troubleshoot and assist users with virtual desktops and apps for thousands of users as easily as for one. The same console can be used to assist users with delivered apps and desktops.

ZonesDefine how users are able to connect to apps and desktops based on criteria such as where the user is currently connecting from, what data center the app resides in or the location of the user profile. IT can deliver the best possible user experience while meeting business objectives.

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Load Balancing and Connection ThrottlingLoad Management measures the server load and determines which server to select upon user logon, under the current environment conditions. Connection Throttling prevents new servers from being overloaded when many users logon to the environment at once by automatically controlling server load. This ensures users are distributed across the available virtual application servers and creates a consistent, reliable user access experience.

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Connection control Administrators can set a limit on the number of total simultaneous connections that each user can have to the environment. Administrators can also prevent users from launching more than one instance of the same published application.

Application user loadLimits the number of users allowed to connect to each specific hosted application, helping enforce licensing requirements for the application.

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Citrix Hypervisor VM portability Full-featured hypervisor including GPU virtualization and live migration functionality of virtual workloads from one physical server to another without interrupting user operation.

System monitoring and reporting Citrix Director allows admins to efficiently manage and monitor system resources and generate reports on application and server availability, performance and capacity.

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Historical performance trendingAnalyzes performance trends for proactive capacity planning and deployment optimization. With up to a full year of trend data available, detailed performance management and capacity management allowing you to keep track of your infrastructure.

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Custom ReportingBuild your own reports within Director as required when you need something more than what the built-in Trends reports offer. An intuitive interface provides access to a wide variety of data points. Reports can be saved and later shared as required along with the corresponding ODATA query.

Proactive Notification and Alerting Set warning and critical thresholds for key metrics, such as CPU, memory and network and receive notifications when they are hit. Alerts can further be integrated with standard SNMP systems.